1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to recording devices in communication systems, and more particularly to enhanced applications and features related to digital recording devices in communication systems configured with set top boxes (STB) equipped with a digital video recorder (DVR).
2. Description of the Related Art
The availability and use of digital video and media content has grown tremendously in the last decade, and will soon virtually replace all analog transmission and recording.
A widespread application of digital video is Digital television (DTV). DTV is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound by means of a digital signal, in contrast to an analog signal used by analog (traditional) TV. DTV utilizes the digital modulation of analog signal data, which is digitally compressed prior to recording or broadcast. The digitally compressed signal requires decoding by a specially designed receiver within a television set, or a standard receiver with a set-top box, or a PC fitted with a television card. Digital television has several advantages over traditional analog TV, the most significant being that digital channels take up less bandwidth space. The reduced bandwidth of a digital broadcast signal enables digital broadcasters to provide more digital channels in the same space, provide High-Definition (HD) digital service, or provide other non-television services such as pay-multimedia services or interactive services. Digital television also permits special services such as multicasting (more than one program on the same channel), electronic program guides, program identification, and program descriptions.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the branch of the United States (U.S.) government that regulates the television and radio broadcast industries, has mandated that all U.S. television broadcasts will be exclusively digital as of Feb. 17, 2009. Furthermore, as of Mar. 1, 2007, all new television sets that can receive signals over-the-air, including pocket-sized portable televisions, must include digital or HDTV tuners so they can receive digital broadcasts.
Along with the recent advances in television broadcasting, consumers have been introduced to digital recording devices that utilize the latest advances in broadcasting, computing, and storage mediums. An example of a digital recording device is the digital video recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR) (herein referred to as a DVR) that records video in a digital format to a disk drive or other storage medium. Digital video recording includes stand-alone set-top boxes, and software for enabling personal computers, portable communication devices, and portable computing devices to perform video capture and playback to and from a storage or recordable medium.
DVRs provide several user advantages and enhancements to older generation recording devices such as video cassette recorders (VCRs), including convenient “time shifting”. Additionally, a DVR enables “trick modes” such as pausing live TV, instant replay of scenes, chasing playback, and commercial advertising skipping. DVRs most commonly use variants of the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) compression format for encoding analog video signals.
Popular and commonly found DVR features are defined below:                1) Time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient to the consumer.        2) Chase play is a time shifting facility of personal video recorders that allows a user to simultaneously watch, stop or pause live television while continuing to record a program to its conclusion.        3) Instant replay is a feature of DVRs, enabling a user to quickly review recently rendered video.        4) Pausing live TV is a feature of DVRs that enables a user to stop the video and audio, and display a still frame. Often, the user may resume the audio video (A/V) content at the point they paused.        5) An Electronic Program Guide (EPG) or also an Interactive Program Guide (IPG) or Electronic Service Guide (ESG), is an on-screen guide to scheduled broadcast television programs, allowing a viewer to navigate, select, and discover content by time, title, channel, genre, etc, by use of their remote control, a keyboard, or even a phone keypad.        